Rumsfeld's War On 'Insurgents'

Rumsfeld's War On 'Insurgents': "When UPI's Pam Hess asked about torture by Iraqi authorities, Rumsfeld replied that 'obviously, the United States does not have a responsibility' other than to voice disapproval.

But Pace had a different view. 'It is the absolute responsibility of every U.S. service member, if they see inhumane treatment being conducted, to intervene, to stop it,' the general said.

Rumsfeld interjected: 'I don't think you mean they have an obligation to physically stop it; it's to report it.'

But Pace meant what he said. 'If they are physically present when inhumane treatment is taking place, sir, they have an obligation to try to stop it,' he said, firmly.

Rumsfeld was defense secretary in 2003 when the United States invaded Iraq, and he has remained in that job for the occupation of the past 32 months. But in his briefing yesterday, he at times sounded as if he were merely observing the Iraq war on television."

Smithsonian: Baghdad January 2004

Baghdad Beyond the Headlines: "From gleeful schoolkids to a literary scholar who loves Humphrey Bogart, a photographer captures a reawakening but still wary city"

Photojournalist Lois Raimondo had little idea what to expect. Her impressions had come mainly from daily news reports of the fighting and casualties and the coalition government's struggles to gain a footing on unstable ground. Journalists in the city warned her to be off the streets by dark.

A few hours after arriving in Baghdad, she found herself at a run-down estate in a Baghdad suburb. The sun had set, marinated carp was roasting on the fire, and whiskey and Iraqi beer were flowing. The ebullient host, Sala, an Iraqi businessman newly returned after 15 years in London, urged everyone to eat and drink. They talked above the crack of distant rifle and machine-gun fire. But when mortars began to boom, guests began to leave. "Please stay," Sala said, laughing and crying at the same time. "It's a party."

His strong mixed emotions made a fitting introduction to Baghdad. Raimondo had gone there to see how people were getting by in their daily lives. Do they have enough to eat? What are they doing for work? What are their dreams for the future?

In a neighborhood of stucco houses, the headmistress of a primary school told Raimondo that she was angry about the destruction of Saddam's regime. She described him as a father figure to her as well as her students. "People love Saddam because they are afraid of him," the journalist's driver, a 42-year-old man named Ali, explained. "This is a very strong kind of love. We are always afraid to say our feelings."

Raimondo visited a married couple in their 40s, both unemployed meteorologists. The mother worried constantly about their two young children because of the bombings and shootings. The father had been a Baathist and a general in Saddam's air force. He'd been hiding in the house since the start of the war. "Everything outside is chaotic," he said. As Raimondo left he said, "This was not so difficult. You are the first American we have ever met."

Raimondo noticed how people were speaking up after decades of suppression. "From now on, there will be a big difference," a furniture maker said. "At the very least I can talk."

Neurotic Iraqi Wife

Neurotic Iraqi Wife:

Anyways, Constitution Day was on Saturday and I VOTED, YAAAAAAAAAY. (guess which hand is mine???actually its the one wearing a beige sweater,lol since Im freezing all the time).I didnt think I would be allowed to vote since I havent registered but hey I aint complaining. We went as a group from work, at first we thought we could cast our votes in the convention center in the GZ, but as we got in line, a guy came up to us and asked whether we were members of the National Assembly. We shook our heads, and said no, so apparantely the place was just for VIP's but after 3pm regular people could go in. We decided that it was far much of a hassle to wait and decided to go and vote in one of the schools that was a voting center.

Whenever I talk to someone they ask how is the "aroosa doing", aroosa=bride and then how is the "irees doing" irees=groom. And the most normal expression after that "hessa shidoo il himma oo jeeboo jahal" oh god which literally translates into "cmon work hard at IT and get some kids".....hmmm how do they suppose we can have kids if me and HUBBY are separated by thousands of miles, is there an einstein somewhere that has a solution?

IRAQ THE MODEL

IRAQ THE MODEL: "Baghdad looks almost like one huge billboard now that one can easily get distracted by them from his original destination! As to drivers, these posters can cause serious troubles if a driver wanted to read each one (or set) of them while driving.

The noticed poster event today was that the United Alliance has begun to use the Ayatollah’s and other religious symbols in their posters again although they were instructed not to do that by other parties.
However, this time they didn’t claim their list to be blessed by the clergy instead they described the Alliance’s candidates as the “soldiers of the clergy”."

Ray, Donovan, Jeff

Albemarle/Charlottesville Democratic Breakfast, March 19, 2005
Ray Lemoine (left) and Jeff Neumann (right) flanking Donovan Webster
LINK

Marla Ruzicka

Marla Ruzicka (December 31, 1976 – April 16, 2005), of Lakeport, California, was an American Green Party activist and aid worker who was killed by a car bomb blast in Baghdad. She founded the Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict (CIVIC), an organization that assists Iraqi victims of the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.

Telegraph Iraq timeline

2003
UNMOVIC weapons inspectors led by Dr Hans Blix report limited co-operation in their search for WMD. America and Britain call for a new UN resolution authorising war and get backing of Spain and Bulgaria. But France, Russia, China, Germany and Syria are opposed. America sends 225,000 troops to the Gulf and Britain commits 45,000.

A 21-day conflict ends on April 11 with the fall of Baghdad. Saddam's whereabouts are unknown but his sons, Uday and Qusay, are later killed during a US-led raid on a house in Mosul. In October, an interim report by David Kay, the head of a CIA-led inspection team, shows that after four months of searching, no banned weapons have been found.

The hunt for the 'Ace of Spades' ends on December 14 when Saddam Hussein is captured by US forces at his cramped, 8ft-deep hideaway under the floor of a mud hut on the outskirts of his home town, Tikrit.

2004
April sees the coalition tainted by revelations of prisoner abuse, most notably at Abu Ghraib prison.

In an effort to thwart terrorist attacks, the Coalition hands over sovereignty one day ahead of the June 30 deadline.

Saddam Hussein appears before an Iraqi judge. The pictures are shown on television worldwide, stunning Iraqis. Six days later, Tony Blair admits that WMDs may never be found.

American and Iraqi forces carry out a two-week operation in Fallujah in November to flush out insurgents.

2005 Eight million Iraqis defy the insurgents' bombs and go to the polls in the first free elections for five decades on Jan 30. Dozens are killed in suicide attacks, but a Shia-led government is elected.

Ten servicemen are killed when a Royal Air Force Hercules aircraft crashed near Baghdad the day of the elections.

Three soldiers who abused prisoners at an Iraqi aid centre, Camp Breadbasket, are jailed and thrown out of the Army in disgrace.

Iraq's new government finally agrees on who will fill the remaining cabinet posts, months after the Jan 30 elections.

Pictures of Saddam Hussein in his underpants, taken in his prison cell, are published in The Sun newspaper.

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of the al-Qa'eda wing in Iraq, is reported to have been wounded.

Iraq's new government, responding to allegations of weakness, deploys 40,000 troops in a ring of steel around the capital in the largest indigenous security operation since the fall of Saddam Hussein.

Nearly 25,000 Iraqi civilians have died in the two years since US and British troops invaded Iraq - an average of 34 people a day - according to figures published by British academics.

The constitutional committee fails twice to meet deadlines for agreement on a new constitution. On August 15 they give themselves an extra week to strike a deal, but still fail because of religious and ethnic differences. They give themselves an extra three days. The main sticking point is federalism.

Iraqi politicians miss the third and final deadline for agreeing a new draft constitution. The August 25, 2005, deadline collapsed amid acrimony and violence between the different religious and ethnic groups. The Sunnis (who do not want a constitution) had accused the Shia negotiating group of failing to turn up for talks, while the government's official spokesman said a final version had been decided upon and a compromise reached on three issues - without naming them.

Up to 1,000 Iraqis die in a stampede caused by rumours of a suicide bomber during a religious ceremony in Baghdad.

Two British soldiers are killed when a roadside bomb explodes beside their armoured Land Rover while on patrol near Basra.

The court martial of seven British soldiers accused of a "unjustified" and "unprovoked" attack on a group Iraqi civilians begins in Essex.

A year-long investigation, overseen by the former US Federal Reserve chairman, Paul Volcker, concludes that the UN was guilty of "illicit, unethical and corrupt behaviour" in its handling of the oil-for-food programme in Iraq. Kofi Annan accepts responsibility for the "embarrassing failings", but refuses to resign.

Iraq's president claims on television that Saddam Hussein has confessed to killings conducted while his Ba'athist regime held power, but the allegation is denied by the former president's lawyers.

A huge force of American and Iraqi troops storm the narrow alleyways of a rebel-held "funnel of death", in one of the biggest anti-insurgency operations since the siege of Fallujah.

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qa'eda's leader in Iraq, declared "all-out war" on the country's Shia population as the organisation claimed responsibilty for a campaign of suicide attacks which killed at least 152 people. It was the second-most deadly day of insurgent violence since the fall of Saddam Hussein.
Related links
Iraq factfile
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/campaigns/iraq/ffiraqtime.xml#war

KR Washington Bureau | 11/16/2005 | In challenging war's critics, administration tinkers with truth

KR Washington Bureau | 11/16/2005 | In challenging war's critics, administration tinkers with truth: "Yet in accusing Iraq-war critics of 'rewriting history,' Bush, Cheney and other senior administration officials are tinkering with the truth themselves."

Guardian | Iraq timeline: February 1 2004 to December 31 2004

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Iraq timeline: February 1 2004 to December 31 2004

Alive in Baghdad

Alive in Baghdad